Book III: The Haunted Orphanage

Chapter 6

"Emily!" Alice called. "Where are we?"
"We're in the basement of the mansion." Emily said.
"Basement?" I asked."There isn't a basement here. We looked all over the house. There's no entrance."
"Did you look under the stairs?" Emily said.
"We walked up the stairs. Maybe forgot to check the stairs." I said.
"Nice one." Alice said.
"You were tied to me. You didn't think about it either."
"What happened to our supplies?"
I slowly realized I couldn't feel my right hand. "Alice?" I said. "I think I found the rope."
Both of our hands were tied down to the cage's bottom.
"Emily," Alice said. "I got a knife in my coat pocket. Think you can get it out and cut us loose?"
"Sure thing!" Emily said as she began to get back the mischievous smile.
"You had a knife?" I asked. "What for?"
"For when you do something stupid." Alice said.
"Well, it's pretty stupid being captured by a ghost, but don't stab yourself yet."
"Ooh. He did not just say that." Emily said.
"Not helping." I said.
"At least I didn't fall out of a window the other night." Alice shot back. "But what's worst is the sheer stupidity of sneaking out at night to do such an escapade. What do you say to that?"
"Movie night?" I said. "Your choice."
"Dinner date and movie night." Alice countered.
"I'll pay."
"And don't forget the popcorn."
"Feel better now?"
"Just wait until you find out what the movie is."
"Finished!" Emily said with her goofy grin back on her face. "Now let's get out of here."

We ran out of the basement and made a mad dash towards the door. I stopped half way down the hall, frozen still. A chill went through my chest. I looked down and saw a ghostly fist coming from where my heart was. Alice and Emily skidded to a stop.
"Thought you could leave?" Scion said.
I couldn't speak.
"You will find out very soon just how much worse I can be." He said in my ear.
"You!" Shouted the ghost of Miranda.
"Ah, dear Miranda." Scion said turning to the orphanage's caretaker and letting my chest go. "Good to see you again."
"You killed me."
"Me?" Scion asked innocently. "I believe the fire did that."
The ghost of the caretaker rushed at Scion, sending the tumbling into the next room. Alice, Emily and I booked it out of the mansion and to the car. We drove non-stop to town, so that we may be as far from that mansion as we could.
"That was terrifying." Emily said. "I thought I was going to die."
Alice and I both looked at her. She stayed silent in the backseat. I looked at the car's clock and saw that it was almost 7 P.M.
"Anyone hungry?" I asked.
"When you're paying, definitely." Alice said.
We stopped at an Olive Garden (trust me, it was Alice's idea). We were seated by the waiter, who kept staring at our ghost friend.
"Never seen a ghost before?" I asked.
"First time." He said. "I don't want to see another again."
"Then I wouldn't visit the old orphanage, then."
"You went to that old place," He said, looking at me wide eyed. "and you made it out of there?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm sitting here."
"No, that's not what I meant. It's only that people who see the ghost in white, don't come back. You didn't see him, did you?"
"What makes him so dangerous?" I asked.
"He's known to steal the hearts of whoever enter the mansion."
"How does he do that?" I asked nervously.
"He just reaches in and takes it."
I reached into my jacket and felt my chest. I pulled out a small slip of paper. It read: You want it? Come get it.
- Scion

"I think I might've left something behind at that mansion." I said, slipping the note back into my pocket.
"Ooh, interesting." Emily said gleefully. "He's got a phantom heart."

How does she have so much energy?